Tackling Housing Affordability Through City, BBOT Taskforces

 

Housing Affordability is a top concern of Burnaby Board of Trade (BBOT) members according to several BBOT surveys and outreaches.  A lack of housing affordability impacts the availability of employees, the discretionary spending of consumers, and the cohesiveness of our community.

The Burnaby Board of Trade is tackling the issue housing affordability through its membership on the Mayor’s Task Force on Community Housing, and through its own member-based Housing and Homes Taskforce at the BBOT.

BBOT President & CEO Paul Holden was named as one of the members of Mayor Mike Hurley’s high-profile housing task force earlier this year, and has participated in many meetings and sessions over the past months to understand the issue, research solutions, and reach consensus on ways the City of Burnaby can support more affordable housing.  Throughout this process, the BBOT’s role has been to reflect the interests of our members and to ensure that the voice and concerns of business are heard.

To support these efforts with the City, the BBOT convened its own 15-member Housing & Homes Task Force including representatives from the real estate, education, finance, non-profit, and small business sectors. This group has met several times to discuss and develop the priorities and principles regarding housing affordability which the Burnaby Board of Trade should promote, and to support the BBOT’s contributions to the Mayor’s Task Force.

Later this month, the final reports of both the BBOT and the City of Burnaby’s task forces will be released, and the BBOT looks forward to continuing to collaborate with business, government and the community on addressing the issue of housing affordability in Burnaby.

For more information on this or any of the BBOT’s advocacy and public policy efforts, contact Cory Redekop at cory@bbot.ca